Daron Cruickshank stops Henry Martinez wtih head-kick knockout

SEATTLE – Daron Cruickshank certainly made the Motor City proud.

"The Detroit Superstar" battered the durable, but ultimately overmatched Henry Martinez before ending the fight with a picture-perfect head-kick.

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The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of Saturday's UFC on FOX 5 event at Seattle's KeyArena. It aired on FX following an additional prelim on Facebook and ahead of the main card on FOX.

Martinez, who came in over two pounds heavy for the bout and was forced to give up 20 percent of his purse, instantly shot for a takedown against the leaping kick of Cruickshank, whose balance ket him upright as his doughy opponent pressed. With no movement, the two were separated, and this time, Cruickshank had more luck countering the wild-swinging Martinez. But again, he found himself back-first against the cage, stalling the bout.

Martinez unloaded against the cage and managed to catch the retreating Cruickshank. But it was the "Detroit Superstar" who would draw first blood with a spinning backfist that hurt his opponent. Cruickshank then sent Martinez backpedaling to the cage with a well-placed body kick, and all at once, it looked like the fight might be over.

Cruickshank unloaded kick after kick on his hapless opponent, and yet the referee did not step in. Martinez recovered, and the two reset.

Still looking for the counter, Cruickshank again put Martinez with a huge head kick, but got a little too highlight-reel happy finish. Although wobbled, Martinez managed to survive through another onslaught and traded punches with his opponent to close out the round.

Cruickshank looked to be tiring by the end of the first.

Martinez wasted no time shooting for the takedown at the start of the second, and the two repeated the fight's opening sequence. This time, though Cruickshank escaped and landed a nice knee to the body, after which he reset.

Martinez continued to chase, and Cruickshank repaid him with straight rights. Lacking length, Martinez had a hard time getting past the end of Cruickshank's punches.

By mid-round, both fighters were noticeably heavier. Martinez's left eye was rapidly shut, which didn't help him see a head kick that came following a lull in action and knocked him out cold.

"I saw in his previous fights that he was susceptible to body kicks and I thought if I landed them that I'd be able to stop him," Cruickshank said. "My favorite fights are the ones where guys come right at me, and that's what Martinez did. He's a super tough guy and he was able to endure a lot. Your next fight is always your most important, and I'm looking forward to whatever that will be."

Cruickshank (12-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who now boasts six straight wins including two inside the octagon, backflipped in the octagon to celebrate. The official time of the stoppage was 2:57 of the second round. Martinez (9-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) drops to 1-2 in the UFC following a split call over Bernardo Magalhaes at UFC on FX 3.